Winners of the the Pat Lowther and Gerald Lampert Memorial Awards Announced

The winners of the 2009 Pat Lowther and Gerald Lampert Memorial Awards were announced on Saturday, June 13, at a special event at the LCP Poetry Fest and Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia. Katia Grubisic was the winner of the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award for her book What If Red Ran Out (Goose Lane Editions), and Alice Major won the Pat Lowther Memorial Award for The Office Tower Tales (The University of Alberta Press).

Pat Lowther: What Stirs by Margaret Christakos (Coach House Books)Kahlo: The World Split Open by Linda Frank (BuschekBooks)The Office Tower Tales by Alice Major (The University of Alberta Press)The Given by Daphne Marlatt (McClelland & Stewart)Breaker by Sue Sinclair (Brick Books)I can still draw by Heather Spears (Wolsak and Wynn)

Pat Lowther Memorial Award:
The Pat Lowther Memorial Award is given for a book of poetry by a Canadian woman published in the preceding year, and is in memory of the late Pat Lowther, whose career was cut short by her untimely death in 1975. The award carries a $1,000 prize.

2009 Jury: Anne Burke, Lori Cayer, Audrey McLaren

The Office Tower Tales by Alice Major
The University of Alberta Press

Judges Comments:
Pandora’s box is open, and out come tales spun by Sherry. The Office Tower Tales is about the vivacity of life and living. It expertly weaves the mundane things of life into a tapestry of priceless collectables. The tales paint life with a new brush, post-modern paint, and extraordinary strokes. They are mythical, classical, and iconoclastic. Not since Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales have we seen the frame narrative, now a mock epic for a contemporary audience. This is an epic work, huge in scope; an examination of the minutia of the ordinary lives of recognizable people, using the tropes of mythology as its metaphoric base.

Gerald Lampert Memorial Award:
The Gerald Lampert Memorial Award is given in the memory of Gerald Lampert, an arts administrator who organized authors' tours and took a particular interest in the work of new writers. The award recognizes the best first book of poetry published by a Canadian in the preceding year. The award carries a $1,000 prize.

2009 Jury: Barbara Nickel, Susan McMaster, Bahra Pasic

What if red ran out by Katia Grubisic
Goose Lane Editions

Judges’ Comments:
Remarkable for its flexibility and range, What if red ran out moves easily from sharp observation to playfulness to grief, often within a few stanzas. With intelligence and humour, Grubisic draws from sources as varied as hyenas, moths, tangos, cymbals, and strawberry jam to serve an unmistakable voice, one that questions, outwits, meditates, calls, dances, and swerves to avoid the tired in a brilliantly authentic and inventive debut.

Every year, book lovers across the country tune in to CBC to cheer on their chosen title in our national literary throw-down, Canada Reads. Hosted by popular CBC personality and author Jian Ghomeshi, the contest pits five fantastic Canadian books against one another in a (mostly) friendly competition. Each book is represented in a series of broadcast debates by a chosen champion, with a title a day knocked out of the running. By the end of day four, one book emerges victorious, receiving the coveted Canada Reads bump.